Malcolm Roberts (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Hansard source

Labor and the Liberal and National parties said the practice is to allow first readings. That's correct. Yet, after saying that, the Labor Party contradicted it and joined with their mates, the Greens, again and again and again. Odgers', the authority, says that it's a parliamentary formality. It's rarely contravened.

What's happening is that the Labor Party, the Greens and some crossbenchers are shutting down the voice of the representatives of the people. You're silencing not just the Senate; you're silencing the people. Now we have Senator Ayres declaring that this is not a bill. Why don't we just suspend the Senate and let Senator Ayres take over instead? Shutting down the voice of a representative of the people is silencing the people. Aussies believe in a fair go. Aussies believe in democracy; Labor and the Greens clearly do not.

Let's not beat around the bush. We all know what this is about. It's about suppressing Senator Hanson because she resonates with Australians. She listens, and she resonates with Australians. This is the latest in many attempts to gag her and to shut her down. The first started when One Nation in 1998 got 23 per cent of the vote overnight in Queensland in the state election, and the Liberals and Labor went into a panic. They infiltrated her party to bring down the branches. They hammered her raw, new state MPs. Liberal and Labor, federally and state, concocted legislation to falsely jail her. She was jailed but released on appeal, the only political prisoner in this country's history. Then she was falsely denigrated as a racist when she's never uttered a racist word in her life. The worst thing Aussies can do is call a woman a racist. That's the worst thing they can do to a woman. Why? I'll tell you why. It's because it stops people being proud of voting, so they're quiet and don't then vote for One Nation. But people are waking. Look at social media, listen to people on the streets and listen to people in the regions.

I want to thank Senator Ayres for putting on his display, because this is being broadcast and the people at home will be watching it. The name of Senator Hanson's party—our party—says it all: One Nation. The Greens cannot debate her position on merit. They have no data and no logical argument. People can see this, and awareness is spreading.

Why don't the Greens and Labor use the opportunity to debate her bill, get their facts on the table and put their views forward? That's what you're supposed to do. You're supposed to represent the people. If you've got a transgender community, go ahead and spread that. The Greens are not putting forward a logical argument. People can see this, and that's why the One Nation vote is increasing.

Let's have a look at biological gender. That's the only gender. Let's have a rational debate. Let's send the bill to a committee to have a rational inquiry. Let the people of Australia speak to this bill. What are you protecting? It's the suicides. When children disfigure their bodies and chemically stunt their mental and social development and then, when they sadly learn that it's not reversible, they suicide. That's what you're doing. Women's rights are smashed in physical sports. They are deprived of years of training—